Simple & Delicious Recipes

Category Archives: Pies and Tarts

Cherry is another fruit that we love to eat in the summer. My parents used to have 2 giant cherries at their old house. I still remember my brother and I would pick as much as we could before the birds get to them. There would be so much cherries that we would fill almost every single basket and bucket in the house….Oh, how I miss those good times. My folks have moved and we no longer have our own cherry trees, but I can make these yummy tarts for them instead !
I always keep a box of puff pastry in the freezer. It’s really handy if you need to make something quick, both sweet and savory. I yet to try making my own puff pastry…. Well, it’s on my list! 🙂

Strawberries ! One of our family favourites ! My son can “chomp down” (that’s his words) a bowl in no time! They taste good, look pretty and you can use them in many ways. I always wish I have a bigger yard and more time so I can grow my own. Luckily, we have a few local farms close to our neighbourhood, and we can get fresh strawberries very easily. I love the U-picks that they have in the early summer too ! It’s a great activity for both adults and kids.

Makes about three to four 4-inch tarts

For the tart shell

120 g cold unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)

75 g granulated sugar

1 egg yolk

180 g cake and pastry flour, sifted

For the fillings

450 g (about 1 lb) fresh strawberries

500 mL milk (preferably full fat, but 2 % works too)

2 egg yolks

75 g granulated sugar

40 g cornstarch

1/2 to 1 vanilla bean

icing sugar for dusting

To make the tart shells

Mix together cold butter and sugar using a wooden spoon until no more lumps

Add egg yolk, mix until blended

Add flour all at once, mix with the wooden spoon, then transfer onto a table or counter and gently knead dough together (just work until ingredients are mixed in)

Wrap with plastic wrap, refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours or overnight

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350ºF

Knead dough until pliable

Roll dough out to about 1/8 inch in thickness on a floured surface, dock with a fork

Place inside slightly greased tart molds, trim off excess dough (dough scraps can be re-roll, but may crack, so only re-roll once or twice)

Bake for about 12 minutes till golden, let cool

To make the vanilla cream fillings

Whisk egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and 1/2 cup of milk together until no more lumps

This is my first ever collaborative post, how exciting ! The Canadian Food Creatives collaboration are featuring fresh strawberries this month ! Be sure to check out the links below for other great recipes. They can also be found on social media using the hashtag #CDNFoodCreatives . Many thanks to Amanda Saxby at The Cinnamon Scrolls for hosting.

This is a dessert that has been in my mind ever since I took the pastry course in September. The original recipe uses a choux pastry. I used a store-bought puff pastry instead. The textures of the two pastries are quite different, but they both go really well with the vanilla cream.

Makes about 8 puffs

For the vanilla cream

500 mL milk (preferably full fat, but 2 % works too)

2 egg yolks

1/3 cup granulated sugar

4 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 to 1 vanilla bean

Whisk egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and 1/2 cup of milk together until no more lumps

It’s Thanksgiving tomorrow. My daughter drew a picture and wrote a list at school about what she is thankful for. She made a long list, but the one I like the most was “I am thankful for my hilarious brother!” For myself, I am most thankful for having two lovely kids….they make me laugh, cry….they give me the energy to keep going but they also burn me out……Hope everyone have a good Thanksgiving!
This is actually my first time making pumpkin pie. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. So I decided to make a mini version to experiment. And I have some tart shells left in the freezer, so it’s a perfect time to use them up! I prefer a sweeter and milder taste, so I didn’t use too much spices. But you can adjust the amount to your own taste.

Can’t believe fall is already here ! I love fall, I love the colours and all the tasty goodies…..apple pies, apple cider, pumpkin pies, pumpkin spice latte, squash soup, etc. And of course the Halloween candies ! Hey, candies are not just for kids, for adults too……OK, Let’s get back to the pie first !

Makes two 4+1/2 inch pies

For the crust

1+1/2 cup (225g) pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

100 g unsalted butter, diced and chilled

110-120 mL cold water

Mix flour and salt

Using a pastry cutter or 2 forks, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, butter chunks should be about the size of a pea

Add cold water, mix gently

Transfer onto a floured work surface and press dough together to form a ball (Do not knead, dough should contain lumps of butter)

Cut dough in half, wrap each one tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight

In order to make a flaky pie crust, your butter and water has to be cold, very cold. This will prevent the butter from melting when you are working with the dough. When the pie is baked, the butter will melt, water inside the butter will evaporate giving its flaky texture. I used all butter because I love the flavour. You can use half butter, half shortening to make the pie more tender but shortening doesn’t have any flavour. So, it’s your choice.

For the fillings

2 apples

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 + 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of lemon zest

Wash, peel and core apples. Cut into slices or chunks

Mix apples with all other ingredients

To make the pie

Preheat oven to 380 ºF

On a floured work surface, roll and flatten 2/3 of one dough to fit pie tin

Fill with apple fillings

Brush rims with water

Roll the other 1/3 of the dough to make top of pie, trim and decorate, leaving at least one hole on top to vent

Brush top with melted butter

Bake for about 45 minutes

This is a modified recipe from the one I learned at my pastry course. Original recipe by Chef Marco at Pastry Training Centre of Vancouver

I was looking into my freezer this morning, trying to plan for dinner. Then I realized I still have half a box of phyllo pastry ! So, I came up with the idea of making these mini tarts. As for dinner tonight ? I still don’t know what to make?????

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I love to share my recipes with everyone, that's the reason I started this blog. However, if you are using any of my recipes or images on any media, please kindly credit or link back to this blog or send me a email for permission at
tinysweettooth@gmail.com.